Day Tripping in Alberta

With two grandmas in charge, there is no telling what adventures lie ahead!

- Linda Ronsko

Alexa and Gramma Linda on a wagon seat with the driver.

My sister-in-law, Gloria, and I take our granddaughters on a day trip every year. The girls, five-year-old Emily and four-year-old Alexa, call it their “adventure.”

For our very first outing we decided to take the girls to Railway Day at the Alberta Central Railway Museum south of Gwynne, Alta. This special day included a pancake breakfast and beaver tails with admission, model train exhibits, telegraph service and spike-pounding demonstrations, as well as train rides, speeder rides and wagon rides all day.

We paid our admission at the gate, parked our vehicle and walked to the building where breakfast was being served. All the tables were full so we sat outside at a picnic table to eat. After breakfast, we toured the scaled-down version of the 1907 Wetaskiwin CPR station. The entire baggage room was converted into a gift shop with all kinds of railway souvenirs. Beside the station sits a charming dining car with red-checked tablecloths and a flower on each table.

The train whistle could be heard outside, so we got in line for our first ride of the day. The conductors set out little stools to help us get onto the train and we chose the upper-class travelling car with plush red seats and private four-person compartments. One compartment even contained a narrow cot and small desk for overnight journeys. Each 15-minute ride was two turns around the quarter-mile track, which passed a smaller station building, a 1906 grain elevator and a farmyard.